Dexus Property Group’s 1 Bligh Street Recognized as World’s Most Innovative High-Rise Building as Group Expands Melbourne Portfolio

Deutsches Architekturmuseum, in association with DekaBank and Stadt Frankfurt am Main has awarded The International High-rise Award 2012 to 1 Bligh Street, Sydney.

By Gabriel Circiog, Associate Editor

Sydney—Deutsches Architekturmuseum, in association with DekaBank and Stadt Frankfurt am Main has awarded The International High-rise Award 2012 to 1 Bligh Street, Sydney. The office tower has been recognized as the world’s most innovative high-rise building, a first for an Australian building.

Co-owned by Dexus Property Group, Dexus Wholesale Property Fund and Cbus Property, the award-winning office tower was designed by Düsseldorf-based Ingenhoven Architects and Sydney-based Architectus. 1 Bligh Street was designed to reflect sustainability and has earned the highest Green Star rating, a 6 Star Green Star Office Design v2 Certified rating. The construction is also designed to achieve a 5 Star NABERS Energy rating.

The 27-story premium high-rise building features 42,700 square meters (459,619 square feet) of office space and was completed in 2011. Sustainability features include a full height naturally ventilated glass central atrium, an energy efficient double-skin glass façade, which protects the computer-controlled sunshades that shield the double glazed curtain wall from the sun. The hybrid air conditioning structure is designed to maximize comfort levels and reduce energy consumption. Cooling, heating and electricity are generated using an innovative tri-generation system, which utilizes gas and solar energy. The cooling systems are driven by the energy provided through curved solar thermal collectors. Decorative plantings throughout the building are irrigated by recycled rainwater and a black water recycling system reduces water consumption and provides clean, recycled water.

Talking about the recent award, where 1 Bligh Street overtook other finalists such as the residential high-rise Pinnacle@Duxton in Singapore, Eight Spruce Street in New York, the Absolute Towers in Mississauga, Ontario, and the towers of The Troika in Kuala Lumpur, Dexus CEO Darren Steinberg said: “This is an outstanding achievement for all those involved in the creation of this iconic property and this accolade aligns with our vision of being globally recognized as the leading real estate company in Australia.”

Dexus Property Group has also recently announced it has entered into a contract to acquire 40 Market Street in Melbourne for $46.7 million. Located in the center of the Melbourne central business district, the nine-story, B-grade office building features 11,711 square meters (126,056 square feet) of office space, 300 square meters (3,229 square feet) of retail space and 85 car spaces. The office space is fully leased to Powercor Australia until December 2018.

Darren Steinberg said: “This purchase offers an opportunity for us to demonstrate our property expertise in driving enhanced performance, and is further evidence of the execution on our objective of being the leading owner and manager of office property in Australia. Our proven ability to move quickly and complete this transaction in a timely and efficient manner was a key factor for the vendor.”

The acquisition will be funded from existing debt facilities and is immediately accretive to earnings. The deal is expected to be concluded on December 20, 2012.